Meet the Twenty Colorado Men in the 2018 Winter Olympics

The opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics got under way today, Friday, February 9, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Colorado is definitely present and accounted for. As we noted in a previous post, eleven women members of the U.S. Olympics team currently live in the state, with many of them having been born here. And Colorado men are even more heavily represented. Twenty have ties to our fair state. Meet all of them here.

In all, 31 Coloradans will be competing in Pyeongchang — by far the most from any state. The next closest is California, with 22, just two more than the number of Colorado men alone.

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There are certainly big names among the female athletes from Colorado, including Lindsey Vonn, who's appeared in a slew of NBC promos for the games for weeks and weeks, and Mikaela Shiffrin, an incredibly accomplished skier seemingly ready to take her fame to the next level.

But there are also plenty of Colorado men of note — among them snowboarders such as Aaron Blunck, who took first in the superpipe at X Games Aspen circa 2017. Others offer a slew of great stories. The Nordic Combined squad includes a set of brothers, Brian and Taylor Fletcher, while bobsledder Nathan Weber is an active duty Green Beret and freestyle skier Torin Yater-Wallace descends from surfing royalty.

And then there's Gus Kenworthy, a silver medalist in the 2014 Winter Olympics who's both the first openly gay member of the U.S. Olympic team and a man not shy about speaking his mind. During an appearance on Ellen this week, Kenworthy ripped homophobic vice president Mike Pence, who represented the United States at the opening ceremonies. which began at 4 a.m. Mountain Standard Time today. "To have someone leading the delegation that's directly attacked the LGBT community...it just seems like a bad fit," he said, adding, "I feel like the Olympics is all about inclusion and people coming together, and it seems like it's not really doing that."

Plenty of people would like to give Kenworthy a medal for these words alone. Below, see photos of each Colorado competitor and learn more about them from their Team USA biographies.

Personal: Son of Lisa and Michael Blunck ... Has one brother, Nolan ... Began skiing when he was eighteen months old ... First competed in freestyle skiing at age eight ... Hobbies include skateboarding, biking, fishing, camping and snowboarding.

David Chodounsky celebrates at his first Olympics games: Sochi in 2014.

Personal: Son of Anna and Martin Chodounsky ... Married to Ramsay ... Began skiing at the age of two, when his parents pushed him down the hill in the front yard ... Hobbies include fly fishing, biking and spending time outdoors with his dog.

Personal: Son of Mary and Skip Dierdorff ... Has one sister, Molly ... Started snowboarding at age ten ... Frames houses part-time ... Hobbies include camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, mountain biking and playing golf.

Personal: Son of Marcelo, a former professional soccer player ... Began skiing at the age of three ... First skied moguls before switching to halfpipe ... Enjoys trampolining, hiking, biking, running, traveling and woodworking.

Bryan Fletcher is one of four Coloradans on the five-man Nordic Combined team at the 2018 games.

Personal: Son of Tim and Penny Fletcher ... Has one younger brother, Taylor, who is also a member of Team USA ... Has a daughter, Ellery, with wife Nikki ... Is a cancer survivor ... Co-founded ccThrive, a charity that aims to help young cancer survivors thrive after cancer ... Hobbies include mountain biking, camping, kayaking and hiking ... Began skiing at age four.

Taylor Fletcher, younger brother of Nordic combined teammate Bryan Fletcher, was amazed to be in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Personal: Son of Tim and Penny Fletcher ... Has one older brother, Taylor, who is also a member of Team USA ... Enrolled at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club at age four... Hobbies include cycling and cooking.

Personal: Son of Conrad and Jen Gerard ... Has four brothers, Brendan, Creighton, Malachi and Trevor, and two sisters, Asher and Tieghan ... Began snowboarding at age to ... Has his own trick park at his house ... Hobbies include skateboarding and golf.

Personal: Son of Skip Hamilton and Ruthie Brown ... Has one sister, Jenny ... Began skiing at age two and competing at age thirteen ... Three-time NCAA All-American at Middlebury College ... Hobbies include biking, backcountry skiing and rock climbing.

Personal: Son of Sharon and Michael Hoffman ... Has one sister, Maggie ... Began skiing at age four ... Hobbies include reading, playing tennis and soccer, alpine skiing and spending time with family and friends.

Personal: Son of Richard Kearney ... Has one brother, Harry ... Started skateboarding before he began snowboarding ... Began snowboarding at age nine ... Hobbies include skateboarding, playing guitar, riding motorcycles and mountain biking.

Personal: Son of Peter and Pip Kenworthy ... Has two other brothers, Hugh and Nick ... Began skiing shortly after he was able to walk ... Hobbies include skateboarding, jumping on the trampoline and chasing snow throughout the year.

Personal: Son of Julie and Mike Maple ... Has one sister, Alex ... Father Mike helped University of Colorado Boulder to two NCAA ski racing titles ... Sister Alex also skied at University of Colorado Boulder ... Hobbies include hiking, biking and rock climbing.

Personal: Son of Christopher and Amy Pates ... Has a brother and sister, Cole and Charlie Sue ... Started snowboarding at age eight ... Hobbies include skateboarding, fly fishing and spending time with friends ... Also teaches skateboarding lessons to inspire youth in his community.

Personal: Son of Chuck and Susan Terry ... Has one brother, Trent ... Played one season for USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (2014-15) ... Won the 2016-17 NCAA Division I title with University of Denver ... Drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the fifth round (147th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Bobsledder Nathan Weber strikes a pose in front of a very appropriate logo.

Personal: Son of Ron and Stace Yater-Wallace ... Has one sister, Saren .... Grandson of Renny Yater, one of the first commercial surfboard builders of the 1950s and founder of Yater surfboards in Santa Barbara, California ... Hobbies include skateboarding.

Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.